Back Some Day
by Manifest My Destiny
Summary: Separated by over 5,000 miles, Dan and Alice continue to relive their whirlwind romance in their new lives. Both consumed by regret and guilt, the question is - can the distance between them bring them closer than they've ever been?
1. Dan: Please Come Back

Dan awoke from his slumber, blinking in the bright, sudden sunlight that was now streaming in through the gap where the curtains didn't quite match up. The corners of his lips twitched upward to form a smile at his optimistic outlook on the day, how productive it could be…just after he'd had five more minutes sleep. His whole being rolled over to try and shield his face from the glare – disappearing underneath the covers.

The scent that still lingered there was Alice. He pushed himself up to momentarily look around the pig-sty of a room, rubbing the morning-bleariness from his eyes. Everything in here still had Alice's mark on it.

No. Not Alice. She wasn't Alice – she was just some…some…_liar._

Liar.

The word echoed in his mind. Liar…liar…_liar._ The smile slid from his face and a blinding fury to built up inside his mind and he drove his fist into his pillow multiple times until it was satisfied. At this point, he slumped down onto his back, staring up towards the ceiling and blowing out a defeated sigh. Of recent times, she was all that he could think of – as much as he tried not to.

She's gone. She's not coming back…he kept telling himself over and over, but it didn't seem to make any difference; the memories of her kept replaying like a stuck CD. He had often fantasised about going to the States in some hope to track her down, but he knew that it would be in vain. He didn't even know her real name, for Christ's sake.

This thought drove home the hopelessness that had kept his body rooted to his bed for days on end once she'd upped and left, yet he still wouldn't, or _couldn't_, accept that they'd never see each other again.

Suddenly, the sun didn't seem to shine so bright nor the morning seem so hopeful; the usual crease reforming between his eyebrows and stress lines re-etching themselves onto his forehead.

His arms wrapped themselves across the front of his chest, as though he were holding himself together and looked towards to slithers of sunlight and out at the sky above knowing that somewhere, Alice was out there. What was she doing? Was she thinking of him? Did she miss him?

"Of course she doesn't. Get a grip." He scolded himself with a gruff murmur. Though, no matter how many times he pushed her from his mind, he knew that a part of him would always have the false hope that she still loved him.

"Come back, Alice." He murmured in a slightly softer tone this time. "_Please_, come back…I need you."


	2. Alice: Moving On, Moving Up

Alice sat awake on the edge of the bed, staring out of the dingy hotel room window at the wide open sky above the city. Las Vegas – the city that never sleeps. "Oh, the irony" She thought to herself as her head turned to look upon her unconscious male company which was sprawled across a large proportion of the bed.

She left out a miniscule sigh and turned back to gaze longingly at the sky again. This time, she got up to advance closer – yanking up the window with a soft creak and a rush of air greeted her. She breathed it in, her eyes fluttering shut. That's one thing she'd missed whilst in Britain; the smell of Las Vegas. It smelt of hopes and dreams and…and…love.

At that thought, her mind flickered instantly to Dan. Plain, middle-aged, obituary-writing Dan with the bad euphemisms…or so she thought. When the memories flooded through her mind, she smiled. A deep, wholesome smile, she hadn't done that in months.

Of course, there were her fake smiles. She had a whole _repertoire_ of them, she had to – all strippers did. Be complacent and willing and you'd make it in the business – or so the boss had told her. She reached for a cigarette pack and lighter. The lighter momentarily breaking the darkness of the room and, at this point, she turned back to quickly eye who'd she just crawled out of bed with. Late thirties, by the looks of his briefcase and suit; a business man. "Not bad," She thought to herself, "Not bad at all."

She raised the cigarette to her lips and took a long, satisfying drag before slowly blowing out the smoke so it misted up before her face before disappearing. She always used to share a cigarette with Dan, no matter how much he tried to stop. This second thought of Dan brought another smile to her lips.

"Why do I keep thinking of him?" She internally questioned herself. "I lied to him. I broke his heart. I _left_ him." When this final thought registered in her mind, guilt swamped her though her expression remained placid. She didn't want to regret. She didn't want to long for the past. She wanted to _move on_.

"But how can I do that if I'm still in love with him?" As the thought occurred to her, she barely knew where it even came from. Love him? Love _Dan_? Of course she did before but not now. Not anymore.

She took a few more breaths of the cigarette before stubbing it out and letting it fall to the ground outside of the window. Her eyes did not follow the stub but looked up towards the darkened sky in a hope to clear her mind but it didn't. Dan's face was still imprinted on her mind, and it stayed there when her eyelids shut.

It was only in that moment did she realise that although both of them had made their mistakes, had their arguments and their fallouts and caused one another pain – both emotional and physical, that they were made for each other. Her and Dan. Dan and her. Despite their differences…

She was still in love with him.


End file.
